In efforts to provide a temporary storage for fuel element containers in the open, it has been suggested to accommodate the containers in silo-like housings made of concrete or steel-reinforced concrete. The silo-like housings can be of different configurations and each is suitable for accommodating one fuel element container. In one configuration of a shielding housing for receiving fuel element containers, the shielding housing is provided with lateral air inlet passages at the lower end of the concrete shielding wall and lateral air outlet passages in the region of the upper end of the shielding wall beneath the cover. With this arrangement of the air inlet and air outlet openings, a natural ventilation within the housing is obtained for directing away heat produced by the radioactive decay of materials stored in the container.
The base of the concrete shielding housing is configured as a separate pallet which can be moved about from one location to another with the aid, for example, of a fork-lift truck. The fuel element container and the concrete shielding wall of the concrete shielding housing can be set down upon this base.
The pallet-like base makes it possible to move the entire concrete shielding housing and container to a location on the storage field after the fuel element container is delivered and the concrete shielding housing is put together. Again, a suitable vehicle for moving this entity from one location to another could be, for example, a fork-lift truck. The storage field is preferably in the open air and is therefore subjected to the weather elements.